Harry Styles says he is conflicted over writing lyrics about his exes: ‘Is that gonna get annoying for them?’

Harry Styles has admitted he is conflicted over writing song lyrics about his ex-girlfriends.

The former One Direction singer’s new album Fine Line covers drunk calls, “wandering hands” and kisses in the kitchen, and it has been speculated that exes Taylor Swift and Kendall Jenner are among the subjects of his songs.

In a new interview with The Guardian, Styles said the only time he worries about an individual lyric is if it risks putting an ex-girlfriend in a difficult position.

“If a song’s about someone, is that fine?” he told Tom Lamont. “Or is that gonna get annoying for them, if people try to decipher it?”

On whether he has ever got that judgment call wrong and been told off by an angry ex, Styles raised an eyebrow and quipped: “Maybe ask me in a month.”

In the interview, Styles also revealed he has therapy. “I go,” he said. “Not every week. But whenever I feel I need it. For a really long time I didn’t try therapy, because I wanted to be the guy who could say, ‘I don’t need it.’ Now I realise I was only getting in my own way. It helps.”

Fine Line was released on Friday 13 December. Our critic Alexandra Pollard awarded the album four stars and described it as a “dextrous, audacious” record.